Dardenne says parks maintenance fund drained

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne said he's been unable to do much maintenance or upkeep of Louisiana's state parks with his budget in recent years.

Dardenne says Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration and lawmakers have shifted so much money from a repair fund into park system general operations that he cannot afford to take care of the cabins and amenities that bring in money for the state.

The fund is filled with park admission fees.

Dardenne says Jindal wants to use $9 million from the maintenance fund for park operations in the budget for the upcoming 2013-14 year.

Dardenne says that would drain the fund, leaving him unable to repair and reopen cabins at a St. Tammany Parish park heavily damaged by Hurricane Isaac.